After another week of brainstorming and genuinely making notes, I’ve been hit with a harsh reality. My whole philosophy of letting the story tell itself can only get me so far. Imagine that.
I’ve reached a point where even my protag has no idea what happens next. So now I’m trying something different: letting the antag tell me what happens next. And since the bad lady (because I’ve just realized the shorthand for antagonist doesn’t have the same ring as protagonist) is a Big Brother-esque entity, I figure it’ll work itself out. But at the same time, I’m not sure if it’s the “right” way to handle the roadblock. Mostly just because the bad lady just sorta knows everything already so it’s unfair. And sadistic. And there’s a chance the mystery might fall off. But I’m gonna try it anyway, if only for a little while.
Anyway, I’ve been grounding the story in time with events that actually happened. It’s sorta my way of using the metafiction to actually force the reader of out the book to find out the date and time. So in that respect, I know exactly what happens next. But the trick is finding out how that affects my characters. Which, again, I know what needs to happen to a certain extent. It’s just about getting them there and listening to what they have to say about it. The endless struggle.
mack rogers writes 